At least six people were killed and 22 others wounded Thursday when an explosive device detonated inside a crowded cafe in central Damascus, Syrian state television reported.
The bomb was planted inside the cafe, located near the Palace of Justice, the main courthouse complex in the Syrian capital, according to the report.
The blast occurred at around 3 p.m. in a busy area of the city. Ambulances quickly rushed to the scene, while Syrian security forces sealed off the area. No arrests were immediately reported, and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Footage circulated on social media showed several wounded people lying on the ground as police officers stood nearby.
Witnesses described scenes of panic and chaos after the explosion. “I heard a loud blast at around 3 p.m., and the front of my shop shook. People ran toward the cafe and started calling for help,” Nawar Khayat, 40, who owns a solar-panel battery shop across from the Palace of Justice, told AFP.
(Photo: REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar)
Mohammed al-Dahabi, who owns a nearby optical shop, said he ran to the scene immediately after the blast. “I saw people lying on the ground, and blood everywhere around them,” he said. He added that the scene reminded him of the bombings Damascus experienced during Syria’s civil war.
Attacks of this kind have been relatively rare in Damascus since the new government took power in December 2024, when Bashar Assad was ousted after more than 13 years of civil war. Syria is now led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former rebel leader who headed the Islamist coalition that overthrew Assad.
Still, the capital has seen several security incidents since the change of government. On May 19, a Syrian soldier was killed and at least 18 people were wounded in a car bombing near a Defense Ministry building in Damascus, in the Bab Sharqi area near the Old City. According to the Syrian Defense Ministry, soldiers had discovered an explosive device in the area and were trying to dismantle it when a nearby car bomb exploded.
(Photo: REUTERS/Yamaam Al Shaar)
The deadliest attack in Damascus since Assad’s fall occurred in June 2025, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church in the Dweilaa neighborhood. Twenty-five people were killed and more than 60 were wounded in that attack. An extremist Sunni group claimed responsibility, while Syrian authorities blamed ISIS.
In recent months, Syrian authorities have said they are operating against ISIS cells and extremist elements in and around Damascus, in an effort to prevent the return of major attacks after the fall of the Assad regime.